http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/08/attack-of-the-superbugs/ How human ingenuity is changing the way we live Mon, 20 May 2013 20:28:37 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/2012/08/attack-of-the-superbugs/comment-page-1/#comment-1086 Margaret Sun, 02 Sep 2012 23:56:05 +0000 http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/ideas/?p=3588#comment-1086 It is for several obvious reasons. One of which is drastically overlooked by all levels of patient care providers: NO ONE CLEANS THEIR STETHOSCOPE with disinfectant. Think about it. They put this right on the skin of every person they touch, every day. It has little grooves around the bottom, just right for holding onto a little sweat, and bacteria. Then they walk around with it, on their warm bodies, all day, cooking it like a petri dish. The other is that people need to accept the fact that MRSA, VRSA is airborne. These docs and nurses are doing heavy wound care, with puss, ect, in cramped, closed air rooms, and inhaling the micro particles strait up their noses, or getting micro droplets on occasion. Many surgeons will tell you (or not) that they have nurses that constantly test positive for MRSA VRSA via random nasal swab. It is everywhere. People just need to accept the fact that this bacillus is a part of our environment and react appropriately. Keep your hands out of your nose mouth and eyes while your out shopping, etc. When you or your loved ones are at the hospital, demand that the stethoscope be wiped completely down with hand sanitizer. Ask your nurse/floor manager for a tub of disinfectant wipes. Clean the door knob/handle, in and out, on all doors of the room 3x a day. Wipe down the hand rails of the bed, iv pole, and buttons (without pressing them) twice a day. Keep your patient clean. Keep your patient's hands clean. Wipe down the bedside table. Common Sense. It is for several obvious reasons. One of which is drastically overlooked by all levels of patient care providers: NO ONE CLEANS THEIR STETHOSCOPE with disinfectant. Think about it. They put this right on the skin of every person they touch, every day. It has little grooves around the bottom, just right for holding onto a little sweat, and bacteria. Then they walk around with it, on their warm bodies, all day, cooking it like a petri dish.
The other is that people need to accept the fact that MRSA, VRSA is airborne. These docs and nurses are doing heavy wound care, with puss, ect, in cramped, closed air rooms, and inhaling the micro particles strait up their noses, or getting micro droplets on occasion.
Many surgeons will tell you (or not) that they have nurses that constantly test positive for MRSA VRSA via random nasal swab. It is everywhere. People just need to accept the fact that this bacillus is a part of our environment and react appropriately. Keep your hands out of your nose mouth and eyes while your out shopping, etc. When you or your loved ones are at the hospital, demand that the stethoscope be wiped completely down with hand sanitizer. Ask your nurse/floor manager for a tub of disinfectant wipes. Clean the door knob/handle, in and out, on all doors of the room 3x a day. Wipe down the hand rails of the bed, iv pole, and buttons (without pressing them) twice a day. Keep your patient clean. Keep your patient’s hands clean. Wipe down the bedside table. Common Sense.

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